How to ruin an xD
Unfortunately, our tester had a dark side. To demonstrate the personalization potential offered by Scion, the car had been kitted out with $3,470 worth of gear – tagged on to the suggested retail price ($19,625). Plus, you had to factor in the (unspecified) installation fees!
Although, among the “trendy” accessories were elegant, 18-inch TRD alloy wheels shod in Z-rated tires. They replaced the standard 16-inch wheels. Also on board were a low-slung, stiff suspension, Alpine Premium stereo with touch screen and TRD sport exhaust system.
So much money for so little driving enjoyment! The suspension and tires transformed this little machine into a recalcitrant rodeo bull, while the music-lover’s dream of a stereo system tried valiantly to drown out the howling exhaust note.
Without these accessories, as costly as they are useless, I would no doubt have appreciated the xD more. In fact, it could very well have been branded a Toyota and named Ist, like in Asia, or Urban Cruiser, like in Europe. I would’ve had no problem with that. After all, if it were just a simple Toyota, the buyer wouldn’t have to finance the implantation of a new brand, created simply to stroke a few egos…
Unfortunately, our tester had a dark side. To demonstrate the personalization potential offered by Scion, the car had been kitted out with $3,470 worth of gear – tagged on to the suggested retail price ($19,625). Plus, you had to factor in the (unspecified) installation fees!
Although, among the “trendy” accessories were elegant, 18-inch TRD alloy wheels shod in Z-rated tires. They replaced the standard 16-inch wheels. Also on board were a low-slung, stiff suspension, Alpine Premium stereo with touch screen and TRD sport exhaust system.
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| The Alpine stereo with touch screen is coupled with a navigation system. (Photo: Luc Gagné/Auto123.com) |
So much money for so little driving enjoyment! The suspension and tires transformed this little machine into a recalcitrant rodeo bull, while the music-lover’s dream of a stereo system tried valiantly to drown out the howling exhaust note.
Without these accessories, as costly as they are useless, I would no doubt have appreciated the xD more. In fact, it could very well have been branded a Toyota and named Ist, like in Asia, or Urban Cruiser, like in Europe. I would’ve had no problem with that. After all, if it were just a simple Toyota, the buyer wouldn’t have to finance the implantation of a new brand, created simply to stroke a few egos…
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